There is something a bit special about Milan for football fans. The city is home to not one but twoof the most successful teams in the history of the sport. Not only are current Italian champions Inter Milan one of the best teams in the world (the only Italian team to have stayed in Serie A since its inception) but the home they share with their equally successful rivals AC Milan, Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, known as the San Siro, is the largest in Italian football. Built in 1926, the San Siro can accommodate over 85,000 screaming fans.

AC Milan has the dubious pleasure of being owned by the country’s infamous Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. For many Italians this has done much to dampen the appeal of the club. The club was actually founded by a British expat called Alfred Edwards in 1899 which is why it has the English spelling of the city. Originally known as the Milan Cricket and Football Club, disputes in 1908 caused a division and Inter was born out of the split.

AC Milan versus Inter now represents one of the most famous rivalries in football. Luckily, trouble between the two sets of fans is rare, perhaps because support does not depend on fixed conditions but can often be split even between family members.

As well as weekly matches throughout the football season (from August until May), the San Siro is home to a museum dedicated to Inter and AC Milan and guided tours can be arranged making this a pretty essential stop on any self-respecting football lover’s itinerary. It is situated about 5 km outside the city centre and can be reached via Tram 16 from Cathedral Square and the Lotto Fiera2 stop on the MM1 to Molino Dorino metro line.